Page 88 - IRS Plan
P. 88
Part III
Part I Part II Obj 1 Obj 2 Obj 3 Obj 4 Obj 5 Part IV Part V
computing resources during filing season, and improve and integrate secure authentication
then reclaim that capacity when no longer needed. methods. Cybersecurity and data protection must
The network links our workforce, customers and keep pace with new threats, technologies and
partners to IRS applications, data and services. architectures. We already identify, assess
Network connectivity demands will rise as we and respond to security risks, but our efforts must
provide employees and taxpayers “any device, increase to protect many more cloud vendors and
anytime, anywhere” access and move applications solutions, taxpayer interaction types and employee
to software-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service data access capabilities. Similarly, our monitoring
delivery models. With these enhancements, and threat management must grow to ingest more
taxpayers will be able to rely on online self-service data from modern cloud services and platforms.
tools when and where they choose. Investments in We will shift to technologies that enforce
resiliency and scalability will negate concerns over authentication, authorization, accountability, and
“peak” demand periods, again providing more encryption whenever an IRS asset connects to an
flexibility to taxpayers to engage with the IRS. IRS information resource.
We will consolidate and improve access We will scale modern data encryption across
to and use of data with data privacy dozens of systems to limit exposure of taxpayer
and security as a top priority. We will data. We will continue to espouse a continuous,
bring together taxpayer account, case and proactive and adaptive security posture through a
operational data in a platform accessible zero-trust model, which will allow us to reduce
to appropriate employees and applications, subject fraud and better protect the system from
to controls and protections to help ensure security cyberattacks. Taxpayers can continue
and privacy. Instead of data locked in siloed to trust that their information and identities
applications, each with potential synchronization are protected.
and data integrity issues, the platform will have
authoritative data on a state-of-the-art, secure We will harness data and analytics to drive
platform to enable reporting, self-serve analytics, operations and decision-making. Data will
customer service, application development and inform every aspect of our operations and
external sharing where appropriate. We will decision-making, enabling taxpayers to get
manage data across its lifecycle, including use, information faster and allowing us to focus more
archiving and destruction. If required by law or for enforcement resources on those most likely to owe
legal compliance purposes, we will be able to large amounts of taxes. Adhering to strict data
intake new data streams using scalable, fast and protection safeguards, we will leverage the data
resilient cloud tools. Taxpayers will be able to platform to use data as appropriate to support
access their own data more easily when they need operational needs. Improved data analytics will
it, and employees will be able to better assist better position us to optimize operations for
taxpayers who reach out for help. taxpayers and employees alike. For taxpayers,
secure access to their own data will enhance
We will ensure continued security and privacy voluntary compliance and improve the taxpayer
of taxpayer data. Foundational to taxpayer experience by giving them a fuller picture of their
service is protecting the data entrusted to the account and tax obligations. Meanwhile, applying
agency by confirming identities of employees, new analytical approaches to better understand
taxpayers and tax professionals in every taxpayer journeys will generate organizational
interaction. We already prevent and block billions insights into the barriers and pain points that
of unauthorized access attempts, scans attacks, frustrate taxpayers. Millions of taxpayers may call
and probes every year. Authentication and data the IRS to ask the same question; analytics will
security challenges will increase as we use more allow the IRS to determine the root cause and
taxpayer- and employee-facing digital technology prevent the taxpayer issue in the first place.
and more accessible and powerful analytics and Expanding the use of data and analytics will also
data, share more information, and interact more support compliance and enforcement by helping
with taxpayers and tax professionals. We will us to better identify high-dollar noncompliance
IRS IRA Strategic Operating Plan 81
Part II: Objectives and Initiatives
